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NPA terrorists continue to violate Int’l humanitarian law

July 23, 2018, 7:41 am
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From the Manila Bulletin (Jul 22): NPA terrorists continue to violate Int’l humanitarian law

CAMP BANCASI, Butuan City – Field unit commanders of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) on Sunday disclosed that the Communist New People’s Army Terrorists (CNTs) allegedly continued violating the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) through continuous use of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).


(MANILA BULLETIN)
The AFP, PNP and RPOC urged human rights group and other peace loving groups including church organizations to join them in condemning the CNTs in the continuous use of prohibited weapons.

“Landmines and IEDs do not only maim and kill victims but also cause mutilation and despoliation of the human body,” claimed Maj. Gen. Ronald C. Villanueva, commanding general of the AFPs Northeastern and Northern Mindanao 4th Infantry (Diamond) Division (4th ID), in a statement sent to The Manila Bulletin on Sunday.

The 4th ID chief cited the recent incident where 2 government soldiers were killed and three Army soldiers were wounded when the CNTs planted landmines that went off at 4:50 p.m. on Thursday (July 19) in Bungkuan area, Barangay San Juan, Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur.

The impact of the land mine blast ripped the body parts of the two soldiers, the military report said.

Troops under the Army’s 402nd Infantry (Stingers) Brigade were conducting clearing operations to the discovered NPA terrorists’ encampment that can accommodate 100 members. During the clearing, 402nd Brigade was engaged in a firefight that lasted for 20 minutes against the occupants of the camp and followed by a landmine explosion that ripped the body parts of two soldiers and wounded three others, the military report also said.

Major General Villanueva extended his condolences to the bereaved families and loved ones of the two soldiers who were killed.

“I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family of our two soldiers who were victims of the inhumane scheme of warfare by the NPA terrorists through landmines,” the top area commander of the AFP in Northeastern and Northern Mindanao said.

“This barbaric incident proves that NPAs are worthy to be called as terrorists,” Maj. Gen. Villanueva added.

“We condemn this senseless act of using landmine and disrespecting International Humanitarian Law,” said Brig. Gen. Franco Nemesio Gacal, commanding general of the 402nd Brigade.

Gen. Gacal said: “There have been incidents of NPA terrorists using landmines and IEDs in our area of responsibility. Last March 4, 2015, NPA terrorists detonated an IED targeting the troops of 58th Infantry Battalion which killed two soldiers and a 16-year old boy in Barangays Cancavan and Puyat of Carmen, Surigao del Sur. On August 10, 2017, two civilians were critically wounded upon detonation of an IED by the same group along the national highway of Brgy Pungtod, San Agustin, Surigao del Sur. Just this year, May 5, 30th Infantry Battalion troops seized six IEDs in an NPA terrorist encampment in the municipality of Malimono, Surigao del Norte.”

The 402nd Brigade commander urged human rights group to look into these continuous use of these prohibited landmines and IEDs by the CTNs, which could also inflict death not only on government soldiers but also on innocent civilians.

“This inhuman act must be stopped,” stressed 4th ID Public Affairs Office chief 1st Lt. Tere Ingente.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/07/22/npa-terrorists-continue-to-violate-intl-humanitarian-law/
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BIFF warns of more attacks as it rejects Bangsamoro Organic Law

July 23, 2018, 7:49 am
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From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Jul 22): BIFF warns of more attacks as it rejects Bangsamoro Organic Law
Abu Misri Mama

Abu Misri Mama, BIFF spokesperson, is shown here carrying an assault rifle. (File photo by JEOFFREY MAITEM / Inquirer Mindanao)

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a militant group linked to the Islamic State, warned of more attacks against government security forces as it rejected Sunday the proposed Bangsamoro Organiz Law, which would give more autonomy to Muslims in Mindanao, a promise of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The President is expected to sign the bill into law on Monday when he delivers his third State of the Nation Address (Sona) in Congress.

Abu Misri Mama, BIFF spokesman, said the bill, which would create the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), would not solve the decades-old problem but will only create more problems.

“It will not bring peace,” Mama said. “Look, until now fighting there is fighting on the ground. The law will only benefit the leaders and not the people on the ground.”

The BIFF, with hundreds of fighters who broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2008, has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. But it did not send fighters when the Maute Group laid siege to Marawi City last year.

The siege has reduced the city to rubble after five months of gun battles and airstrikes that killed 1,200 people, mostly militants.

In 2014, the MILF signed a peace deal with the government in exchange for expanded autonomy. But the BIFF had vowed to push on with its separatist fight, attracting younger, more hardline members of the MILF.

Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the MILF peace panel, said they were very happy with the version of the Bangsamoro Organic Law that passed Congress, as it was at least 85-percent compliant with the 2014 peace deal that this group signed with the government under Aquino administration.

In addressing the problems in Mindanao, Iqbal said his group would use its P60-billion block grant annually for education, social and health services.

“I think the compliance of the law that was passed in the bicameral conference committee is 85 percent to 90 percent. But as to the final assessment, that will be the decision of the leadership of the MILF,” he said.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1012821/biff-warns-of-more-attacks-as-it-rejects-bangsamoro-organic-law
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Soldiers hunt rebels in Tapaz

July 23, 2018, 8:01 am
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From the Panay News (Jul 22): Soldiers hunt rebels in Tapaz

Philippine Army soldiers are running after armed men they identified as New People’s Army (NPA) members in Tapaz, Capiz.

A firefight ensued between the armed men and troops from the 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB) in the mountainous area of Barangay Roosevelt, Tapaz on Saturday, the military said.

Soldiers from the battalion’s Alpha Company scoured the area after receiving a report from the locals about the presence of armed men, said Lieutenant Hazel Durutan of the 61IB.

They came across and traded gunfire with 20 rebels under the NPA’s Central Front Committee (CFC) at 1:50 p.m., Durutan told Panay News in a phone interview.

The encounter site is a rebel-infested area, according to Senior Superintendent Samuel Nacion, Capiz police director.

According to Nacion, the CFC is led by Secretary Ted Caballes and Digoy Paderes.

No casualty or injury was reported among the government troops, Durutan said.

The firefight lasted 10 minutes. The rebels fled when augmentation personnel from the 3rd Infantry Division arrived, said the military officer.

“Thanks God walang nasugatan sa mga tao natin,” Durutan said.

As of this writing “we could not confirm if there are casualties or wounded on the part of the rebels,” the officer told Panay News. “We are still conducting a hot pursuit.”/

https://www.panaynews.net/soldiers-hunt-rebels-in-tapaz/
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‘Rebels’ shoot Toboso man to death

July 23, 2018, 8:04 am
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From the Panay News (Jul 22): ‘Rebels’ shoot Toboso man to death

Suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) shot a man to death in Barangay Bandila, Toboso, Negros Occidental, police said.

The 52-year-old resident Egan Carbajosa died of gunshot wounds on the head and the different parts of the body, a police report showed.

Carbajosa is a former member of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit. He was gunned down around 3 p.m. on Friday while sitting and talking to friends at a store owned by Allan Dada, added the police.

After shooting Carbajosa, the two suspects fled while shouting “NPA!”

Police said other suspects also broke into Carbajosa’s house and took his firearm.

Recovered from the crime scene were three empty shells of a .45-caliber gun.

It was not immediately clear if the gun used to shoot Carbajosa was his.

Police were still identifying the suspects and the motive in the shooting.

https://www.panaynews.net/rebels-shoot-toboso-man-to-death/
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Communist national terrorist arrested in Ilocos Sur

July 23, 2018, 8:09 am
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From the Manila Bulletin (Jul 21): Communist national terrorist arrested in Ilocos Sur

A most wanted notorious criminal and a communist national terrorist was arrested by joint operatives from the PNP and AFP in Quirino, Ilocos Sur reported Saturday.

The suspect identified as Robert Banasan Navarette alias ‘Ka Ebon’, who was a remnant of Kilusang Larangang Gerilya (KLG) Medina or AMPIS and listed as most wanted person in Region 1 with Department of Interior Local Government bounty amounting to P150,000.

According to the police, ‘Ka Ebon’ was arrested by virtue of arrest warrant for crimes of arson, robbery, and murder with no bail.

The arrest was linked to the recent joint combat operation conducted by 102nd Maneuver Company, RMFB1 leading unit under the command of Senior Suot. Jovencio Badua Jr., and Armed Forces of the Philippines which resulted in the voluntary surrender of Antonio Tabling alias ‘Andy’, a listed member of Platun Dos, KLG AMPIS, ICRC at Barangay. Concepcion, Cervantes, Ilocos Sur.

“The continuous apprehension of communist national terrorists in the region is an indication that the counterinsurgency efforts of the police are effective,” said Chief Supt. Romulo Sapitula, PRO1 regional director.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/07/21/communist-national-terrorist-arrested-in-ilocos-sur/
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Suspected bomber killed after resisting arrest

July 23, 2018, 8:20 am
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From Zambaoanga Today Online (Jul 22): Suspected bomber killed after resisting arrest

A suspected bomb maker was killed by police authorities after the suspect tried to resist arrest during the serving of a search warrant at Tabuk Suba, Barangay Poblacion West, Salug Municipality, Zamboanga del Norte on Thursday.

Police Regional Office 9 (PRO9) spokesperson Chief Insp. Helen Galvez identified the alleged bomb maker as Benhar Lendit Muksan alias Bin-Bin, a resident of the said place.
 
Galvez said that the police operation was covered under search warrant number 1-18 issued by Honorable Judge Rowena S. Carpintanos-Magallanes of Municipal Circuit Trial Court, Salug-Godod, 9th Judicial Region, Salug. Police authorities in the municipality have strong suspicion that the suspect is manufacturing improvised explosives.

Galvez added that Muksan sensed the arrival of police operatives prompting him to immediately ride his motorcycle to elude arrest. Police reports also added that the suspect even pulled his handgun and aimed at the policemen with the intention of shooting. At this point, the authorities saw an imminent danger that prompted them to shoot Muksan. The authorities rushed the suspect to the Liloy Integrated Health District Hospital where he later expired due to fatal gunshot wounds.

Galvez said that a search operation was conducted at Muksan’s residence which were witnessed by Nanie Nelia Cabil Daffon and Edelberto Arbutante Amodia, both barangay kagawads that resulted to the seizure of a hand grenade, 132 pieces blasting caps, 3 rolls of time fuse, several kilos of ammonium nitrate and a new and 3 old sets of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) camouflage uniform.
 
The police also searched the suspect’s color black Rusi motorcycle where they recovered 3 heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets believed to be shabu hidden inside the U-box.

On the other hand, Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) team processed the crime scene and recovered a Smith and Wesson Caliber .357 Revolver Magnum with serial number 052353 loaded with 6 live ammunitions.

Galvez told Zamboanga Today that the operation was carried out by the joint elements of the 901st Mobile Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 9, Regional Maritime Unit 9, ZDN Police Provincial Office and Salug Municipal Police Station.
 
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DILG to fund construction of more processing centers for NPA returnees

July 23, 2018, 8:35 am
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From the Sun Star-Manila (Jul 22): DILG to fund construction of more processing centers for NPA returnees



THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) will be allocating P5 million for the construction of more “processing centers” in the provinces for the rebels surrendering to the government wanting to go back to their normal lives, DILG officer-in-charge Eduardo Año said.

Año said the funds for the construction of the “halfway houses” in various local government units (LGUs) will be sourced from the Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) of the DILG.

He said halfway houses will serve as a venue in rehabilitation and healing sessions and education and skills training activities for the rebel returnees.

"These former rebels are risking everything by surrendering and we want to make sure that government is there every step of the way in their journey towards healing and reintegration in the society. Halfway houses are where their new life begins," said Año.

"A halfway house will serve as a re-introduction of former rebels to society. In here, we will try to equip them through skills training. Kaya napakahalaga na ang ating magiging partner LGU ay mayroong ganoong mga uri ng training (That is why it is ver important that our partnered LGU has that kind of training.)" he added.

Año said based on the Memorandum Circular 2018-105 the criteria for the selection and prioritization of LGUs for the said program includes the number of enrolled former rebels, no existing halfway house or with halfway houses but not funded by the former CLIP and existing E-CLIP, halfway houses that needs renovation or expansion, availability of donated lot/site to build the structure and functional skills training programs, among others.

He added the funds can only be accessed after complying with the procedural requirements which include a complete assessment of the provincial or highly-urbanized city government, signing of a memorandum agreement and submission of a project proposal and supporting documents.

Año said nine provinces were already granted P5 million each as implementing partners for the construction of the said houses in Kalinga, Mountain Province, Masbate, Negros Oriental, Northern Samar, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, and North Cotabato.

He said financial assistance amounting to at least P60 million were also allocated by the DILG to hundreds of former communist rebels in the past three years.

Earlier, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said over 2,000 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels has surrendered to the government since January.

Of which, 607 were regular NPA fighters while the rest were with the Militia ng Bayan, underground mass organizations (UGMOs) and their supporters.

Año said the aggressive efforts for the construction of the halfway houses is in preparation for the planned localized peacetalks.

“We are hopeful of the success of the localized peace talks in light of the announcement of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) that they would rather oust the President than talk peace. We will never give up on peace, so we are preparing for the return of communist rebels in any way we can,” he said.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1754065/Manila/DILG-to-fund-construction-of-more-processing-centers-for-NPA-returnees?seeMore=1
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Abu Sayyaf member who fled the Philippines gets 13 years' jail in Malaysia

July 23, 2018, 6:40 pm
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From The Star Online (Jul 23): Abu Sayyaf member who fled the Philippines gets 13 years' jail in Malaysia
 
An Abu Sayyaf member convicted by a Philippines court for attempted murder and kidnapping, has found that the arm of the law is long indeed.

Basilan-based Filipino Marsan Ajilu @ Anuar Mohamad Asnalul, who fled the Philippines to start a new life in Sabah, was jailed 13 years by the High Court here on Monday.

The 32-year-old, who is currently serving a six-month jail term for entering the state illegally, is responsible for kidnappings in southern Philippines and fought with the military there.
 
Justice Dr Alwi Abdul Wahab on Monday ordered the custodial sentence to run consecutively.

Marsan admitted being a member of the militant group in Sabah between July 31, 2012 and March 15 this year.

The father of four was convicted under Section 130KA of the Penal Code, which provides for life imprisonment and a fine, for being a member of a terrorist group.
 
According to the facts of the case, Marsan was arrested by police on March 15 at the Kepayan state police headquarters here at 10.30am.

On March 20, state police requested a background check on him.

They received a reply six days later, confirming that Marsan was a member of the Abu Sayyaf group with two warrants of arrest issued by a Philippines court for attempted murder and kidnapping for ransom.

The Philippines government also confirmed that Marsan was an Abu Sayaff member in Basilan, southern Philippines, and acted as a “hunter” for kidnap-for-ransom in Zamboanga City.

The court was also told that Marsan had acquired skills in the use of various types of firearms and was involved in a series of battles with the Philippines army in the southern province.

Police investigations also revealed that Marsan admitted to being a member of the Abu Sayyaf group since 2010 and had fought against the Philippines army three times since 2016.

He also underwent shooting training using the M16 rifle in the same year.

In mitigation, Marsan urged for a lenient sentence, saying that he was remorseful for his actions as he had fled to Malaysia to start a new life.

He told the court he has four children in the Philippines.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Fadzlan Muhd Nuar, however, urged for a deterrent sentence as the offence was very serious.

On April 13, the Sessions Court sentenced Masran to six months' jail and a stroke of the cane for entering Sabah illegally.

He was ordered to run his custodial sentence with effect from the date of arrest on March 15 and be deported.
 
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/07/23/abu-sayyaf-member-who-fled-the-philippines-gets-13-years-jail-in-malaysia/
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In Organizational Shake-Up, IS Names New Province in Southeast Asia

July 23, 2018, 7:11 pm
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From Benar News (Jul 23): In Organizational Shake-Up, IS Names New Province in Southeast Asia

180723-abuza-620.jpg

A government soldier stands guard next to a tattered Philippine flag near the dome of the damaged Grand Mosque in Marawi, a southern Philippine city that was seized for five months in 2017 by pro-Islamic State militants, April 7, 2018.

The Islamic State’s al-Naba news agency recently announced a major re-organization. Within Iraq and Syria, IS’s 22 wilayat (provinces) were reorganized into just two, a reflection of the fact that they had lost more than 80 percent of the territory they claimed in those countries.

And they appear – though there is some conflicting information – to have added a new province in Southeast Asia: Wilayat Sharq Asiyya. This was a long time coming and something that Southeast Asian pro-IS militants had long clamored for.
 
The first Southeast Asian militants declared bai’at (allegiance) to Islamic State (IS) in mid-2014. Among the first taking the oath were Isnilon Hapilon of the Philippine-based Abu Sayyaf Group, and Santoso of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT).

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (who had quit the Moro Islamic Liberation Front), Ansar Khalifa Philippines (AKP; also known as Ansar al-Khilafah), and the Maute Group all followed suit.

In Indonesia, Abu Bakar Bashir, the former spiritual leader of pro-al Qaeda Jemaaah Islamiyah (JI), and Aman Abdurrahman, declared bai’at from prison, causing another rift amongst Indonesian militants.

The rise of Islamic State, which swept across Iraq and Syria four years ago, played a fundamental role in revitalizing terrorist networks throughout Southeast Asia.

JI was largely leaderless and divided over strategy and tactics. In the late oughts, there was an intense debate over targeting: One faction wanted to emulate the radicalism of al-Qaeda in Iraq and intensify their targeting of the West. Others opposed that strategy, not as ethically wrong, but as counterproductive, leading to mass incarcerations. They advocated a return to sectarian bloodletting, but failed to deliver.

Neither side emerged the winner. An attempt was made in 2009-10 to bridge the divide, but Indonesian security forces disrupted it and killed or arrested more than 120 JI members, including Bashir.

Security forces gave JI space to exist, through its mosques and madrassas, as long as it remained focused on dawah activities. Any attempts to regroup or recruit a new generation of leaders were largely thwarted by the difficulty of operating in such a hostile environment: Indonesian security forces had effectively dismembered the group.

In the Philippines, the Abu Sayyaf, which tends to vacillate between ideologically motivated terrorism and abject criminality, was back to kidnapping for ransom, leaving little marks. Most of the Moro groups had failed to gain traction, as the peace process between the government and the MILF was in full swing.

Only after the peace process was suspended following the botched Mamasapano raid in January 2015, did these fringe groups increase their recruitment and make their mark.

So the emergence of Islamic State provided a new raison d’etre and, more important, a marketing tool. Militants could latch on to a seemingly unstoppable force. They focused more on sectarianism and the brutality of IS militants.

While the crackdowns continued at home, a new generation traveled to Iraq and Syria to “join the caravan.”

By late 2014, there was a sufficient number of Southeast Asians in Syria to form a Bahasa language company, Khatibah Nusantara. From cannon fodder, Khatibah Nusantara began to prove its worth in battle against the Kurdish Peshmerga.

And IS’s slick social media was tailor-made for wired Southeast Asian youths. By the fall of 2014, IS was featuring Southeast Asians in their propaganda and increasing their Bahasa language publications and multi-media.

More recruitment videos emerged and a weekly e-zine, al-Fatihin, began production in July 2016. Pro-IS channels on Telegram proliferated. By late 2014, there were suggestions that IS would establish a province in Asia.

More than 1,000 Southeast Asians traveled to Iraq and Syria, though only a few hundred were militants; the rest were women, children and those who served as humanitarian workers. Many were promised good salaries and jobs in the caliphate. Most were duped, while women were often treated as chattel. Many more were deported by Turkish authorities.

Unsung militants
But Southeast Asian militants failed to get the recognition they had hoped for from the IS leadership.

Perhaps it was because pro-IS militants in Southeast Asia did not have a fantastic track record at first. The first major IS attack was an attack on a Jakarta Starbucks in January 2016. There are reports of the Southeast Asian leadership being reprimanded for being online jihadists, unable to orchestrate significant attacks.

In early 2016, IS finally recognized the pledge of bai’at from several Southeast Asian militant organizations, declaring the Abu Sayyaf’s Hapilon to be the regional emir and other pro-IS groups to be “brigades.”

Flush with success and busy trying to build their caliphate project in the Middle East, Southeast Asia was too far away and less of a priority. But it is possible that IS was simply waiting to see which groups or leaders emerged on top.

The AKP, for example, was thought to have some of the best bona fides, but with the death of their leader, the group fell into a tailspin. The Mautes, by contrast, came out of nowhere.

IS propaganda did try to demonstrate the Philippine groups and foreign fighters coming together and conducting joint trainings. But, it is important to note, IS never declared Southeast Asia to be a wilayat.

Even with the Marawi siege, from May to October 2017, IS did not a wilayat in the region. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that Hapilon and the Mautes saw the siege of a major population center as something that they could then take to the IS leadership to justify the declaration of a wilayat, which, of course, would help to consolidate their own authority.

The Marawi siege came as IS was losing much of its own territory in Iraq and Syria. This had two immediate effects: Southeast Asian supporters were encouraged to travel to fight in Mindanao, rather than Iraq or Syria.

This is significant because outside militants often were able to bridge the parochial divides and get groups in the Philippines to cooperate with one another. Individually many of these groups are fringe, but they can really challenge the government when they cooperate, as we saw in Marawi.

Second, Southeast Asia became more important in terms of the IS central media as the group began to shift its strategy to a global insurgency. An IS central media organ produced a slick documentary on Marawi, as part of its “Inside the Caliphate” series.
 
Toward global insurgency

As IS has shifted its strategy fully to a global insurgency, Southeast Asia takes on added significance. This is not to say that there will be more attacks in Southeast Asia, but there will be more pressure on the militants there to do so. They have been pushing for this for about four years.

It raises certain questions: will more resources flow to Southeast Asian groups? Will IS central media organs increase their coverage of them and local language media? Will IS leaders push for greater cooperation amongst the groups, or a more unified command and control?

But one also has to wonder if they have the capacity. The most important IS leaders, both in Syria and Southeast Asia, have been killed or are believed to be dead. These include Mohammed Lutfi Ariffin, Bahrun Naim, Bahrumsyah, Isnilon Hapilon, Salim Mubarak Attamimi (Abu Jandal), and the Maute brothers. Aman Abdurrahman was recently sentenced to death, and Abu Bakar Bashir remains in prison.

There are plenty of others in the wings, but Indonesian, Malaysian, and Singaporean security forces have all stepped up their CT operations, armed with no powers and resources.

The Philippines clearly remains a weak link, but hopefully with the implementation of the peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, they will need to prove themselves by cracking down on pro-IS militants, who after all, challenge the MILF for leadership.

IS has made clear that it will not be abandoning their Caliphate, despite their territorial losses. The caliphate has simply morphed, and will likely include new areas and battlegrounds, including Southeast Asia.
 
But to be clear, not all seem to be on board with this even within the IS leadership, with some IS Telegram channels still not using the “wilayat” label in reference to Asia. Still, as IS fully adopts the insurgency model, we are reminded just how effectively insurgency has been waged in the jungles of Southeast Asia.
 
Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and the author of “Forging Peace in Southeast Asia: Insurgencies, Peace Processes, and Reconciliation.” The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College or BenarNews.

https://www.benarnews.org/english/commentaries/asean-security-watch/is-province-07232018160808.html
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An island in the Philippines hopes for peace but braces for war

July 23, 2018, 7:30 pm
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From the Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) (Jul 23): An island in the Philippines hopes for peace but braces for war

Civilians on Mindanao fear the rise of extremists linked to so-called Islamic State

After years of bloodshed, the southern Philippine island of Mindanao is on the verge of a hard-won peace deal granting greater autonomy to minority Muslims.

But on the edges of sprawling Liguasan Marsh, civilians like Tamano Bandila are bracing for more violence. He fled his home last year, after hearing rumours that militants linked to so-called Islamic State (IS) were near.

“I’m worried that IS will come back and recruit the youth and there will be more conflict,” he said, adding that civilians, again, would be the collateral damage.
Map of Philippines including ARMM, Mindanao, Marawi City, and Liguasan Marsh


Bandila’s home sits in the middle of a resource-rich marshlands in central Mindanao that is also a stronghold of the island’s largest Muslim armed group – the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. For more than 40 years, grievances among the island’s Moro Muslims have fuelled a separatist movement that has battled the army of the majority-Catholic Philippines.

The backdrop is the spectre of last year’s five-month siege of Marawi, about 120 kilometres north of here, where fighting between the army and Islamist militants levelled the city and uprooted 360,000 people. The destruction both deepened long-held frustrations against the government among Muslims – and raised fears that further missteps in the peace process will only fuel extremism here.

The government declared an end to the Marawi siege in October, but clashes with Islamist militants continue in places like Liguasan Marsh. Here, the MILF has done what was once unthinkable: formed an uneasy alliance with its former enemies, the Philippine army.

IRIN recently accompanied MILF fighters as they patrolled their territory in search of militants who scattered into the area after government forces reclaimed Marawi.

Weaving through canals on narrow canoes and speeding by patches of mangroves, the soldiers passed signs of recent clashes: a shed with an artillery shell-sized hole through the sheet metal roof, a madrassa seized from militants, a MILF fighter still nursing a bandaged gunshot wound to the stomach.

Today, the MILF and the military coordinate operations in the vast marshlands in a tenuous alliance of former adversaries: the army providing airstrikes while MILF fighters lead the charge on the ground.

“We are the one who assaults the enemy directly,” said Von Al-Haq, spokesman for the MILF’s military arm.

It’s another turn in the protracted peace process on Mindanao, where the separatist movement has morphed and fractured over decades of instability and collapsed accords.
Over the years, the MILF tempered its demands for outright independence in favour of more political autonomy. The MILF signed its peace treaty with the government after years of negotiations in 2014, but other factions rejected the deal.
Now, President Rodrigo Duterte is on the cusp of signing – as early as this week – the Bangsamoro Organic Law, implementing the peace accord and granting greater autonomy and fiscal powers to a Moro Muslim homeland on Mindanao. But many here – local activists, displaced civilians, the MILF, and other militant groups – warn of more violence to come.

☰      Read more: A who’s who of Mindanao militancy
 
There are many layers to conflict and displacement in Mindanao, with a range of armed factions, powerful clans, private armies, and paramilitary groups fighting for control on different parts of the island. Here’s a look at a few key players:

Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF): Came to prominence in the early 1970s and carried the banner of pro-independence Moro Muslims on Mindanao for more than two decades. The MNLF originally demanded an independent state, but later settled for autonomy. Factions within the organisation saw this as an unacceptable compromise and broke away, including elements that would go on to form the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. After years of conflict and peace talks with the MNLF, the government created the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, or ARMM. But critics say the political entity suffered from dysfunctional governance and lacked financial resources and power. Today, the MNLF is divided, with some factions still opposed to the MILF’s treaty with the government, while members of other factions have been included in peace deliberations. MNLF factions reportedly had a fighting strength of 3,000 in 2016, down from an estimated 17,000 two decades earlier.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF): Split from the MNLF in 1977 over the latter’s acceptance of autonomy with the Philippine government. However, the MILF later embraced peace talks with the government, which continued in starts and stops throughout the 2000s. The group eventually dropped its demands for full independence in favour of a government offer for an autonomous region with more powers than the current ARMM. The Philippine Supreme Court quashed an early agreement between the two sides in 2008, setting off a new round of conflict. The MILF later signed a new peace deal with the government in 2014, leading to the current deliberations for a new autonomous region. Primarily based in central Mindanao, the MILF is estimated to have about 12,000 fighters in its ranks.

Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF): Rejecting peace talks with the government, a faction of the MILF split to form the BIFF in 2010. BIFF factions remain opposed to the current peace process. Spokesman Abu Misry Mama told IRIN the group continues to seek an independent Muslim state. The BIFF had previously pledged support for the so-called Islamic State, but the spokesman now denies any allegiance: “ISIS has no clear directions. The Bangsamoro struggle does not need this kind of struggle in Mindanao,” he said. BIFF is believed to have a fighting strength of several hundred people.

Abu Sayyaf: An Islamist separatist organisation founded by Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, who recruited former members of the MNLF in 1991. Traditionally operating on the islands of Sulu and Basilan to the southwest of Mindanao, the group was responsible for numerous kidnappings, bombings, and attacks on civilians, often targeting foreign nationals. Isnilon Hapilon emerged as the most prominent commander. The group pledged allegiance to so-called Islamic State in 2014, and Hapilon claimed to be the “emir” of IS supporters in the Philippines. In 2017, Hapilon was the target of a military operation in Marawi, which led to the five-month siege that levelled the city.

Maute group: Led by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute, it grew out of an influential local clan in Lanao del Sur province, in the heart of Muslim Mindanao, and started clashing with government forces. The Maute group declared allegiance to IS in 2014, and its fighters participated in the 2017 taking of Marawi, where both Maute brothers were killed in the subsequent siege. The remnants of the group have scattered and the Philippine army has said they may now be led by Abu Dhar, a former lieutenant to Hapilon. According to the International Crisis Group, the Maute faction previously recruited former MILF fighters.

Clan-based groups: Feuds between rival clans in western and central Mindanao have been a frequent cause of displacement for civilians, adding another layer of complexity to conflict on Mindanao.

New People’s Army: A communist insurgent group formed in 1969, the NPA continues to be active in parts of Mindanao (as well as elsewhere in the Philippines). Clashes between the NPA, the army, and paramilitary units have also been one of the main drivers of conflict and displacement on the island.

“What happened in Marawi City… is one offshoot of the frustration of the people, especially the young people,” Mohagher Iqbal, a senior member of the MILF and its chief peace negotiator, told IRIN.

“When people are frustrated and the frustration is extreme, then people will go to extreme measures.”

Abu Sayyaf, known for kidnapping and beheading foreign hostages, reportedly pledged allegiance to IS in 2014, as did another group led by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute. Both Maute brothers and former Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon were killed in Marawi.

“We have to drive them away so that the incident in Marawi will not be repeated,” said Grand Mufti Huraira Abdulrahman Udasan, the highest-ranking Islamic religious figure in central Mindanao, who issued an edict condemning violent extremism during last year’s siege. “We have been permitted by Islam to take a temporary drastic measure in order to quell the violence. Sometimes, only violence can quell violence.”
Many here condemn the newer groups, but they are also quick to add that such extremism is rooted in generations of marginalisation rather than jihadist ideology.
Though Mindanao is believed to be rich in untapped mineral deposits and natural gas reserves, poverty rates in Moro Muslim areas hover over 50 percent – more than double the national average, according to government statistics. And poverty rates have climbed over the last decade on Mindanao, even while falling nationwide.
“These young people are a product of social injustice,” said Hamidullah Atar, a sultan in Marawi – part of the traditional clan leadership structure in the area – who also runs a peace-building organisation called RIDO. “They become more radical and more extreme because of what happens in our society.”

But Atar said successive governments have only ever had a military response to insurgent groups on Mindanao. What’s missing, especially amid the rise of more extremist groups, is a sustained effort to tackle the roots of violence by creating jobs, making education more accessible, and improving people’s lives. He noted that while the army killed the leaders of the Maute group in Marawi, they were quickly replaced.

“Over the past 400 years in Mindanao, militarisation has never been the solution,” Atar said. “They killed the Maute brothers, but now all the subordinates, and all other young people second in line, have now become more extreme than the Maute brothers. So is counter-terrorism and killing them the solution?”
Sky-high expectations surround the MILF’s peace agreement with the government. Yet local community groups worry that in practice, the resulting law will be stripped back from what was originally negotiated in 2014.
The Philippine Congress has wrangled over matters of tax revenue, control over resources and waterways, and even the basic question of how outlying municipalities will accede to a new autonomous territory. While the MILF says the current agreement is an imperfect but acceptable new beginning, Islamist militants could still use any failings in the resulting deal as fodder in the future.
“There’s still a lot of mistrust toward the Manila government,” said Carlos Conde, a Manila-based researcher with Human Rights Watch.

“Civil society groups, Muslim groups, are trying to build this bridge and remove this distrust. But it’s difficult when you take into account the fact that the Muslim region… really doesn’t have anything significant to show after all these decades.”

Proponents of the peace accord say it’s a starting point for disaffected Moro Muslims, giving a better chance for local leaders to improve lives over the long-term. But for now, militancy continues in Mindanao despite the peace deal, leaving civilians trapped in the middle.

Fighting has forced Mariam Maunan Usop to flee her home twice before. Now she lives in a MILF compound near Liguasan Marsh, where she runs a store from her small home.

“We are already so tired of moving from one place to another...,” Usop said. “I don’t think we can survive another displacement.”

[Wes Bauer is Freelance journalist covering militancy and conflict]

http://www.irinnews.org/news-feature/2018/07/23/island-philippines-hopes-peace-braces-war
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CPP/NPA-Com Val: Red fighters arrest soldier as AFP troops rampage communities in Davao Oriental

July 23, 2018, 7:44 pm
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NPA-Com Val East Coast propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines Website (Jul 24): Red fighters arrest soldier as AFP troops rampage communities in Davao Oriental

Roel Agustin II, Spokesperson
NPA-Comval Davao East Coast

24 July 2018

Troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, specifically the 67th IB and the 28th IB, in Davao Oriental are turning civilian communities into military encampments and barracks to the detriment of Lumad and peasants in the province. Amid this fascism, Red fighters arrested Pfc. Johannes Dolor Parreño, Serial No. 890065, in a mobile checkpoint mounted by the New People’s Army unit belonging to the ComVal – Davao East Coast Sub-Regional Operations Command in Sitio Mampising, Brgy. Taguibo, Mati City at around 5:30pm on June 10. A caliber .45 pistol was seized from his possession during the arrest.

POW Parreño, 29, is an enlisted soldier assigned to the 28th IB in Davao Oriental since 2012. He has actively taken part in combat operations conducted by the 28th IB in the municipalities of Pantukan and Banay-Banay, and Mati City. POW Parreño is under investigation for his possible involvement in anti-people crimes perpetrated by the 28th IB and counter-revolutionary activities.

Since GRP Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s ascension to power and made worse by his declaration of martial law, the number barrios with AFP encampments amid civilian communities have steadily increased. Not only have these units of the AFP insisted on putting up detachments in the middle of civilian population, they have also saturated other barrios with their deceptively-named “peace and development teams,” a sham term for their psywar operations against Lumad and peasants that have always resulted in killings, physical and verbal abuse, fake surrender and many other human rights violations.

In Cateel, Brgy. Malibago, a barrio with less than 2,000 residents, there are three military detachments and a section of the 67th IB encamped in another sitio conducting civic-military operations. Mandaya residents are not surpised by the oversaturation of enemy troops in Brgy. Malibago since illegal logging in the barangay has always been one of the racketeering ventures of the 67th IB. Five (5) other barangays in Cateel have detachments while at least three barrios are being terrorized by peace and development teams of the 67th IB.

In Boston town, apart from their detachments in Brgy. Simulao and in Sitio Owabangon, Cabasagan, the 67th IB has periodically used the gymnasium in Brgy. Cabasagan as a command post during their combat operations and plans to make use of several housing units of Typhoon Pablo victims as encampments for their peace and development teams. PDTs have also been deployed in Brgy. Cauwayanan where farmers are being threatened to yield their productive lands to a local landlord.

In Baganga where the 67th IB holds their brigade headquarters, two other barangays, Brgy. Binondo and Brgy. Kasunogan, have detachments. In Caraga town, detachments have been put up in Brgy. Caningag and in Brgy. Pantuyan. Apart from the detachments in Brgy. Rizal and Brgy. Old Macopa in Manay town, the 67th IB presently have PDTs in Brgy. Taocanga and Brgy. Kalinawan. In Tarragona town, there are detachments in Brgy. Tubaon and Brgy. Limot. Meanwhile, in nearby Lupon town, the 67th IB has deployed PDTs in Sitio Tiombocan, Brgy. Marayag.

In Lingig, Surigao del Sur, the 67th IB have detachments in Brgy. Pagbacatan, Sitio Pamian in Brgy. Bogac and in two sitios of Brgy. Rajah Cabunsuan while peace and development teams are present in at least three other barangays.

Meanwhile, the 28th IB troops are browbeating the masses in their areas of operation. In Banay-banay, aside from a detachment in Brgy. Piso, PDTs are loitering in the communities of Brgy. Puntalinao, a nickel mining area, relieving small scale miners of their income. The 28th IB has likewise saturated the town of Lupon with detachments in Sitio Camaruyan in Maragatas, Brgy. Tagugpo, Brgy. Marayag and Brgy. Don Mariano Marcos and PDTs in Sitio Logdeck in Maragatas, in Sitios Calasagan and Consuelo in Brgy. San Isidro and Brgy. Calapagan. Finally, in Mati City, aside from their detachments, the 28th IB has also deployed PDTs in the barangays of Sainz, Sanghay, Taguibo, Culian and Don Salvador Lopez.

It is becoming clearer and clearer that the martial law being implemented in Mindanao is nothing but an all-out offensive against civilians to ensure their non-resistance in the face of Duterte’s dictatorship and devastation of the Filipino people’s socio-economic lives. It is, likewise, being used by fascist troops of the AFP to lend excuse and credence to their corrupt practice of extortion and other money-making activities in their areas of jurisdiction.

The Lumad and peasants of Davao Oriental and other parts in the region continue to persist and fight back, especially by joining the revolutionary armed struggle. NPA units in Davao Oriental are being beefed up following atrocities committed by the 67th IB and the 28th IB, with Duterte’s anti-people programs as the unwitting motivator.

https://www.philippinerevolution.info/statements/20180724-rnrnred-fighters-arrest-soldier-as-afp-troops-rampage-communities-in-davao-oriental
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CPP/NDF-Mindoro: NDFP in Mindoro on Duterte’s 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA)

July 23, 2018, 7:49 pm
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NDF-Mindoro propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines Website (Jul 24): NDFP in Mindoro on Duterte’s 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA)

Ka Maria Patricia Andal, Spokesperson
NDFP Mindoro

24 July 2018
Press Release

In less than an hour, GRP President Rodrigo Duterte proved to the citizenry a truth that they have long known — no substantive change has happened to the country over the past two years.

Once again, Duterte swore to the people that he is doing “the greatest good for the greatest number,” yet his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) failed to show the material basis behind that promise. Despite tackling various issues such as the War on Drugs, Mining, and Federalism among others, the reactionary president completely disregarded issues that would bring the Philippines one step closer to just and lasting peace.

Instead of admitting to the fact that his regime has not been able to achieve significant changes in the last year, Duterte praised accomplishments that, in reality, only aggravated the socio-economic crises faced by the people today. Prime here is the passed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN Law, which, even denied by Duterte in his SONA, led to price hikes for all basic commodities.

Duterte’s one-after-the-other cancellation of the peace negotiations is his way of dodging the fact that the National Democratic Front’s program is superior in addressing the needed socio-economic reforms that the citizenry has been long looking for.

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in Mindoro joins arms with all the sectors and groups that surged through the floodwaters in order to demonstrate their dissent and condemnation to the US-Duterte regime. Today’s protest actions are the embodiment of the true state of the nation.

At end of the day, Duterte’s SONA was but a confirmation that the single most effective way to achieve genuine change is to unite and mobilize the masses for the victory of the National Democratic Revolution.

Oust the tyrannical and fascist US-Duterte regime!
Struggle for just and lasting peace through the National Democratic Revolution!

https://www.philippinerevolution.info/statements/20180724-ndfp-in-mindoro-on-dutertes-3rd-state-of-the-nation-address-sona
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CPP: In solidarity with protests across the nation

July 23, 2018, 7:53 pm
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CPP propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines Website (Jul 23): In solidarity with protests across the nation

Communist Party of the Philippines

23 July 2018

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) expresses solidarity with hundreds of thousands of people currently converging in Manila and other parts of the country. The real state of the nation will be heard in the streets – not from Duterte’s speech in the opening of Congress. Today’s rallies serve as a powerful force against the corrupt, criminal, fascist, and puppet Duterte regime. These show the people’s widespread and profound hatred for Duterte.

In just two years under Duterte, the people have gone through grave hardship and suffering. Millions have bore the brunt of additional hefty taxes. Thousands have been killed and harassed by the fascist and criminal regime. Duterte’s endless schemes – the “war against terrorists,” “charter change,” and other sinister plots – are all meant to justify his iron-fisted rule, plan impose nationwide martial law, and consolidate and extend his power.

Today, Duterte will face the nation trembling at his knees amid worsening political crisis. In just two years, he has become extremely isolated. Only a handful of military and police officials, and only a few big businessmen, remain supportive of his rule. Despite this, like a trapped animal, Duterte will undoubtedly unleash all savagery just to remain in power.

To the Filipino people! Prepare for greater struggles ahead! Build the broadest unity! Fortify your courage and resolve to continue to march and struggle to end the fascist and puppet Duterte regime.

Duterte embodies the worst aspects of the rotten ruling system. He is presently the largest bureaucrat-capitalist. He is at the helm of the class rule of big landlords and big burgeois compradors. Fighting the US-Duterte regime is part and parcel of the national-democratic struggle.

Throughout the country, the armed revolutionary struggle flourishes. This is despite Duterte’s total war against the people. In the countryside, the New People’s Army is firmly defending the people, waging people’s war, and launching tactical offensives against the most rabid fascist AFP units. The NPA is continuously amassing armed strength while establishing the foundations of the new democratic government across the nation.

End the fascist and puppet US-Duterte regime!
Advance the people’s democratic revolution!

https://www.philippinerevolution.info/statements/20180723-in-solidarity-with-protests-across-the-nation
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CPP/NPA-Negros: 303rd Brigade Commander Col. Alberto Desoyo naga-istorya sang kaugalingon niya nga landing

July 23, 2018, 8:01 pm
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NPA-Negros propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines Website (Jul 23): 303rd Brigade Commander Col. Alberto Desoyo naga-istorya sang kaugalingon niya nga landing

Juanito Magbanua, Spokesperson
NPA-Negros Island (Apolinario Gatmaitan Command)

23 July 2018

Nalipat si Col. Alberto Desoyo sa kasaysayan sang paghimakas sang pumuluyo para maangkon ang matuod-tuod nga hustisya sosyal para sa matuod nga reporma sa duta kag pungsudnon nga industriyalisasyon. Ang pag-angkon sang kalinong amo ang pagsolbar sang kawsa sang armadong rebolusyon sang sahing pigos.

Si Col. Desoyo naga-istorya sa kaugalingon niya nga landong nga kung wala sang insurhensya, ang pundo sang gobyerno magakadto sa pumuluyo. Nagapakita lang nga ang iya panindugan hamulag sa matuod-tuod nga kahimtangan tungod ini tanan lunsay mga patalang upod sa iya maitom nga propaganda kag psywar batok sa New People’s Army (NPA) kag pumuluyo. Ang kawad-on sa duta sang mangunguma, kapigaduhon, inhustiya kag korapsyon pila lang ka rason nga amo ang nagbun-ag sang armadong rebolusyon sang pumuluyo batok sa pasistang makinarya sang reaksyunaryo nga estado nga gina representahan ni Duterte.

Ang matuod ang daku nga bahin sa pundo sang gobyerno nagakadto sa AFP/PNP samtang ang mga mamumugon sa kampo sa isla sa Negros nagaantus sang barato nga sweldo kag mumho nga benipisyo halin sa gobyerno. Nagahabok ang bulsa sa kurapsyon sang mga opisyal sang Philippine Army sa pagkuha sang pundo halin sa programa sang Comprehensive Local Integraion Program (CLIP) pinaagi sa peke nga pagpasurender sa mga masa kag pasibangdan nga NPA, paghimu sang mga scripted nga enkwentro para sa kapritso kag pagprensentar sang mga peke nga nadakpan nga NPA agud mabulsa ang reward money. Nangin dugang man nga bubon sa kurapsyon ang recycled nga eskema sang AFP-PNP-DILG sa ginduso nga localized peace talks sa katuyuan nga tungaon kag pasurenderon ang NPA.

Naghuromentado ang 94th IB sa kaangay nila nga pasistang tropa, sa pagdali nga makakuha sang accomplishment report para ipahambog sa ila commander-in-chief US-Duterte. Ang matuod wala sang enkwentro nga natabu sa Isabela tunga sang 94th IB kag sa yunit sang Leonardo Panaligan Command kundi ang matuod misencounter ang natabu sa hanay mismo sang 94th IB. Bangud sa hugot nga suporta sang malapad nga masa ang AFP pareho lang nagapangita sang dagum sa tunga sang kalasangan nga bisan ano pa nga himuon nila nga kampanya militar indi gid nila mawasak ang rebolusyonaryo nga pwersa.

Sa kapalpakan ni Col. Desoyo nga lutuson ang NPA amo man ang kabaris sang 303rd Brigade nga paukpan ang mga pumuluyo sa paghimu sang bayolasyon sa tawhanong kinamatarung sa pagpatarasak nga pagpinalupok bisan wala sang NPA, pagpapatay sa mga lider masa, trumped-up charges, pagsabwag sang intriga nga may upod nga itom nga propaganda kag mga pag-akupar sang komunidad sang mga tumandok, eskwelahan, kapilya kag ang pagwasak sa pangabuhian sang pumuluyo sa kaumhan.

Nagahiliusa ang malapad nga patriyotiko kag demokratiko nga pwersa para pabagsakon ang ini nga pasistang rehimen ni Duterte. Sa iya nga ikatatlo nga SONA karon nga July 23, 2018 nagapabilin ang neo-liberal polisiya sa ekonomiya, pagsaka sang presyo sang tanan nga balaklon tungod sa Tax Reform For Acceleration & Inclusion (TRAIN) Law. Ang pagpataw sang Martial Law sa Mindanao ginpasangkad sa bilog Pilipinas pareho sa Oplan Istambay, Oplan Tokhang kag iban pa nga pagpang-ipit sa mga oposisyon kag kritiko sang US-Duerte nga administrasyon. Sa ikatlo nga SONA ni Duterte gina-ekspektar nga mangin puro na lang ini buladas kag cinematographic effects agud tabunan ang nagakaagnas nga US-Duterte rehimen.

https://www.philippinerevolution.info/statements/20180723-303rd-brigade-commander-col-alberto-desoyo-naga-istorya-sang-kaugalingon-niya-nga-landong
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CPP/CPP-IB: Extend all-out support to Lianga exodus amid AFP siege

July 23, 2018, 8:13 pm
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CPP-Information Bureau propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines Website (Jul 21): Extend all-out support to Lianga exodus amid AFP siege

Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

21 July 2018

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) joins various groups in calling on the broad democratic sectors across the country to extend all possible moral, political and material support to the thousands of Lumad evacuees who have sought safe haven in Barangay Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur, amid the heightening siege by the fascist troops in the area.

The CPP condemns the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for imposing a death grip against the Lumad evacuees of Lianga. The CPP denounces the AFP food, aid and information blockade. All roads leading to the village center are being blocked by AFP troops.

Media agencies are being barred by AFP troops from proceeding to the evacuation site to prevent them from interviewing the evacuees. Aid organizations, including church groups, are being prohibited from bringing rice and other aid.

The AFP has practically taken over the government in the said area. The AFP’s information and aid blockade are grave criminal acts and outright violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
Around 1,600 people from various sitios in Barangay Diatagon left their homes a few days ago and marched for several hours to the village center out of fear.

For more than a month now, they have been intimidated and terrorized by the presence of hundreds of troops under the 75th IB in their villages. Lumad residents have been subjected to continuous threats and harassments in the hope of compelling them to accept the entry of companies who seek to mine coal within their ancestral domain.

Over the past weeks, several other Lumad communities in other parts of Mindanao have been forced to evacuate as a result of AFP presence in their midst. This include the Higaonon Lumads from Barangay Bantaawan, Gingoog City and from Barangay Banglay, Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental who were forced to evacuate and are currently encamped in Cagayan de Oro City to seek humanitarian support. Moro areas and national minority communities across the country have also been subjected to similar acts of repression as the Duterte regime heighten its drive to take control over their ancestral lands.

The CPP calls on the international community to draw attention to the plight of thousands of evacuees in Mindanao and elsewhere and expose the all out attacks by the military against their communities.

https://www.philippinerevolution.info/statements/20180721-extend-all-out-support-to-lianga-exodus-amid-afp-siegern
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MILF: Trainers Training for Enhancing Capability Building of A’immah, Du’at, Murshideen, and Murshidat held in Davao City

July 23, 2018, 8:23 pm
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Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jul 24): Trainers Training for Enhancing Capability Building of A’immah, Du’at, Murshideen, and Murshidat held in Davao City



Cotabato City-About 30 participants from different units of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)-Central Committee attended Trainers Training on Capability Building with the theme, “Enhancement of A'immah, Du'at, Murshideen & Murshidaat for Effective Peace advocacy” held at El Bajada Hotel Function Hall in Davao City on July 19-20.
As agreed upon between the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and the MILF to end the recruitment or engagement of children in combat by the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF-MILF), the Moro Front strengthens its commitment by implementing peace mechanisms one of them is to conduct Training of Trainers for its various unit/s that concerns child protection, military matters including the religious.

The two-day training was focused on so-called Magnetic Da'iyah, Effective Khutbah, Effective Speaker & Masjid Management. It was spearheaded by Sheikh Abdulhadie Gumander III, head of the focal persons from Religious Unit of the Central Committee in partnership with the UNICEF.

He reminded the participants that the program aims to strengthen the ability of Khatibs (one who delivers sermon for Jama'ah during Friday Congregational Prayers in Masajid) to make themselves effective in the presentation of their topics given by the MILF Committee on Daw’ah and Masajid Affairs.

The Khatibs were reminded by their superiors before they are dispersed to various masajid that in their sermons (Khutba), they have to counter radicalisms and violent extremisms that continue to spread in the homeland.

Addressing the participants, woman focal person, Wilma Madato of Bangsamoro Islamic Women Auxiliary Brigade stressed in her message, “Make yourself efficient & effective Da'ieh, Khatib & Manager of your Masjid, and make a gradual transformation in leading your community by reminding the children to avoid joining radical or extremist groups because you have that big role in your respective communities.

Another Focal Person Sheikh Marhan Burhan, Chairman of the Da'wah Committee of Bandar Cotabato emphasized to the participants that what they have gained during the training should be re-echoed or mentioned when delivering khutba (Sermon) during Friday prayers.

In the last of the program, he stressed, "We selected and chose you because you are trusted people to do the task. And in the name of peace, deliver your responsibility well. This is an 'Al-Amanatul lakum' (trust from Allah) that we are all accountable in the hereafter, so we expect you to do your part as we already trained you on how to be an effective speaker, khatib (Solemnizing officer).

Esmail Ebrahim in his message told the participants that their role is very significant in the current situation today. That it may give impact to the whole development of the society especially now that the peace process has come to its realization with the passing of the Organic Law for Bangsamoro (better known as Bangsamoro Basic Law) by Congress. In shaa Allah it will be fully implement.

In his closing message, Sheikh Gumander III told the participants to make use of the tool shared to them to become an effective Da'ieh, khatib or manager, and as leader as well who play an important role in the Bangsamoro homeland.

“The very challenge is the application of your learnings, but because you are a leader, we believed you can do your part to succeed in support to the peace process,” he added.

http://www.luwaran.com/news/article/1422/trainers-training-for-enhancing-capability-building-of-a---immah--du---at--murshideen--and-murshidat-held-in-davao-city
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MILF: House Derails Approval of Proposed Bangsamoro Law

July 23, 2018, 8:26 pm
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Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jul 24): House Derails Approval of Proposed Bangsamoro Law



House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez TOTO (LOZANO/Presidential Photo / MANILA BULLETIN)

Sultan, Kudarat, Maguindanao-The intramurals at the House of Representatives derailed yesterday the ratification of the proposed Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) that supposedly to be presented to President Rodrigo Dutere for signing during his 3rd State of Nation Address at the Batasang Pambansa.

The House adjourned its session at about 12: 30PM without approving the bicameral conference committee report to avert the impending removal of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and replaced with him Congresswoman Gloria Macapaga-Arroyo.

A Philstar report says that Alvarez initially presided over the morning session and declared a recess after the House passed two resolutions informing the Senate that it has convened and invited Duterte to address a joint assembly of Congress for his third SONA.

Former Arroyo budget secretary and now Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. tried to object to the adjournment but Cebu City Rep Gwen Garcia ignored him.

During the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III, Arroyo was detained for plunder in connection with the alleged misuse of more than P300 million in Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office intelligence funds. She was released in July 2016 after nearly four years on hospital arrest.

Arroyo was responsible for the February 2003 military attack in Boliok Peace Complex in Pikit, North Cotabato, while the late MILF Chairman Salamat Hashim was leading a Eidl Adha Congregational prayer.

Malacañang described as “unfortunate” the failure of the House to ratify the BOL before the adjournment of its session, the Philstar report said.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza said the BOL was a “collateral damage” to the issues in the House.

“The failure to ratify is unfortunate but it has nothing to do with the BOL itself. It was due to some leadership issues internal to the House,” Dureza told Philstar in a text message.

Meanwhile, the Senate ratified yesterday the proposed BOL.

http://www.luwaran.com/news/article/1423/house_derails_approval_of_proposed_bangsamoro_law
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MILF: BTC chair hopeful MNLF will be active in the establishment of Bangsamoro Government

July 23, 2018, 8:39 pm
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Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jul 23): BTC chair hopeful MNLF will be active in the establishment of Bangsamoro Government


Photo courtesy by Jabs Abas/ BTC secretariat

Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao- Bangsamoro Transition Commission Chair (BTC) Ghazali Jaafar is hopeful that leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) will be active in the work to put up the unified government in the region.
Jaafar said that he has successfully worked with leaders of the Moro Front during the crafting of Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and they have cooperated and performed well.

Jaafar statement comes after the Bicameral Conference Committee approved a reconciled version of proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) which they renamed as Organic Law for the Bangsamoro in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (OLBARMM).

In an interview by CNN Philippines, Jaafar said, “Until now, I still get to talk to prominent leaders of MNLF in Davao. In all our conversations, they never told me they were against BBL. They are for BBL. I am sure they will help, and will not oppose. After all, this government is inclusive to everyone. This is not a government of the MILF or MNLF. This is a government of all the people residing there.”

The BTC, and leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said that they are satisfied with the outcome of bicam meeting, as it is 80% to 90% compliant to the peace deal signed in 2014.

They said that they will most likely accept the organic law but has to consult first civil society organization (CSOs) and the Bangsamoro people.

A plebiscite will be held in November for the ratification of OLBARMM.

After its ratification, a transition government led by the MILF will replaced the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) by January 2019.

President Rodrigo Duterte is set to sign the OLBARM during his 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasan Pambansa at 4PM today.

http://www.luwaran.com/news/article/1421/btc_chair_hopeful_mnlf_will_be_active_in_the_establishment_of_bangsamoro_government
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NDF-Sison: On Duterte's State of the Union Address (SONA)

July 23, 2018, 8:51 pm
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Jose Maria Sison propaganda statement posted to the National Democratic Front Website (Jul 24): On Duterte's State of the Union Address (SONA)

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
NDFP Chief Political Consultant
July 24, 2018

As a whole, Duterte´s State of the Nation address does not present the true state of the nation. It shows no remorse for his glaring nonfulfilment of electoral promises and his gross aggravation of the problems that afflict the people.

On Some Major Points in Duterte´s State of the Nation Address (SONA):

 1. He expresses contempt for the international and Philippine human rights advocates as misdirected for protesting the arrest of suspected drug users and pushers without judicial warrant and the mass murder of such suspects with impunity. True to form as a tyrant, he says brutishly that the war will not be sidelined and will be as relentless and chilling as from the beginning. He promotes the worst of criminality by turning police officers into kidnappers and murderers and corrupting them with rewards of cash and promotions in rank.

2. He declares grandiloquently that justice will catch up with those who steal government funds. But why are his closest allies–the biggest plunderers, like the Marcoses, Arroyos and Estradas?. Corruption is now rampant from the level of the Office President and his Cabinet down to lower levels. The ease of doing business, without vetting or without proper public bidding, has been abused for the purpose of graft and corruption. His friends have been caught stealing public funds but mostly they go scotfree and when removed from office they are reassigned to other lucrative positions.

3. He sheds crocodile tears over the destruction of lives and properties in Marawi City. It was he who ordered the devastation of Marawi Ciy and refused to heed the advice of the Sultan and leading families of the city to negotiate with the Maute group and Abu Sayaff group. He used the siege of Marawi to proclaim Mindanao-wide martial law in order to attack other Bangsamoro, Lumad and Christian communities and grab the land for foreign and oligarchic interests in mining, plantations and logging. Now, he makes a new false promise to fulfill the promise of Mindanao with public funds which have not at all flowed for the urgent and adequate reconstruction and rehabilitation of Marawi City.

4. He states that he would continue to assert and pursue an independent foreign policy. But he has retained all the treaties, agreements and arrangements that allow the US to dominate the Philippines economically, politically, militarily and culturally. And he is in fact traitorously selling out the sovereign rights of the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea to China and plunging the Philippines into a debt trap in connection with overpriced infrastructure projects. He has not dared to file a diplomatic protest against the Chinese encroachment on and militarization of the West Philippine Sea with the use of artificial islands.

5. He does not say much about solving the problems of underdevelopment, mass poverty, unemployement, soaring prices of basic commodities and services. He merely repeats a series of generalized promises, like looking after the welfare of the OFWs and seeking the pertinent agreements with their host countries, abolishing contractualization and establishing the Coconut Farmers Trust Fund and adopting a land use policy which is most likely to favor corporate and bureaucrat land grabbers at the expense of the indigenous people and the peasant masses.

It is the patriotic and progressive forces and the broad masses of the people uniting and rallying against the tyrannical, traitorous and corrupt Duterte that present the true state of the nation.

Their presentation of the true state of the nation includes the following:

1. The economic and social crisis has worsened. While so-called economic growth benefits the foreign corporations and the local exploiting classes, the people suffer the rising prices of basic goods and services, depreciation of the peso, increased unemployment, reduced incomes and lack of job security and deprivation of land.

2. The main objective of such operational plans as Oplan Tokhang, Double Barrel, Tambay and Kapayapaan is to unleash mass murder and mass intimidation and to lay the ground for a fascist dictatorship.

3. The problem of illegal drugs has become more rampant because Duterte himself has become the supreme drug lord by protecting his own close relatives and associates who are involved in illegal drug smuggling and distribution.

4. Criminality is aggravated by Duterte by turning the police and military into his criminal instruments for extrajudicial killings and assuring them of impunity and rewarding them with cash and promotion in rank.

5. The Duterte regime is founded on an alliance with the biggest plunderers like the Marcoses, Arroyos and Estradas. Corruption now reeks from the level of the office of the president down to lower levels.

6. Duterte continues as a puppet of the US but is committing further treason by selling out to China the sovereign rights of the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea in exchange for overpriced infrastructure projects and plunging the country into a Chinese debt trap. By turning the Philipines into a debt vassal of China, Duterte is betraying the national sovereignty and giving away the natural resources to China.

7. Duterte makes no mention of Proclamation 360 in the SONA. This terminated the GRP peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines last November 23, 2017. He does not want to address the roots of the armed conflict through comprehensive agreements on social, economic and political reforms in order to lay the basis for a just and lasting peace. It is deliberately escalating the armed conflict in order to scapegoat the revolutionaries for his vile scheme of establishing a fascist dictatorship.

8. Duterte is obsessed with establishing a fascist dictatorship under the pretext of changing the unitary form of government to a federal one. The objective of Duterte is to concentrate executive, legislative and judicial powers in his hands. By establishing his fascist dictatorship, he and the regional dynasties and warlords of his choice would have the utmost freedom to oppress and exploit the people.

9. Duterte adds to his list of targets rice hoarders in view of the soaring prices of this basic food commodity. But he is in cahoots with the rice importers at the expense of the Philippine rice farmers and food sovereignty.

10. Duterte does not take full responsibility for shifting the tax burden to the people from the corporations and the wealthy and thus raising the prices of basic goods and services through excise taxes. And he boasts of his scheme to raise expenditures for the military and police, for all sorts of counterproductive and anti-industrial programs and projects and for the creation of many more offices at the regional and lower levels of the federal form of government that he wishes to set up.

https://www.ndfp.org/on-dutertes-state-of-the-nation-address-sona-2018/
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NDF/NDF-SMR: CASER benefits the masses

July 23, 2018, 8:58 pm
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NDF-Southern Mindanao Region press statement posted to the National Democratic Front Website (Jul 23): CASER benefits the masses

National Democratic Front of the Philippines
Southern Mindanao Region
Press Statement
July 23, 2018

Revolutionary forces in Southern Mindanao scoffs at the ridiculous lie of 10th Infantry Division mouthpiece Capt. Jerry Lamosao that the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER) only favors the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army. We challenge Capt. Lamosao and the 10th ID to carefully study the document to discover that it is in truth the welfare of the toiling masses, especially the workers, peasants and Lumad, that is being guaranteed in the CASER.

Capt. Lamosao’s unoriginal and plainly idiotic attack against CASER, and by extension of the GRP-NDFP negotiations, seems premised on the US-Duterte regime’s “accomplishments” in alleviating the hardships of the basic masses and addressing the root causes of the armed conflict. Of this much-ballyhooed “accomplishments,” Capt. Lamosao actually refers to Duterte’s anti-poor TRAIN Law and crackdown on unemployed Filipinos, endemic contractualization against workers, subservience to imperialist powers in railroading charter change, the much-despised martial law in Mindanao and Oplan Kapayapaan in the entire country that have victimized civilians in the millions, and many other economic, political and social crimes.

Furthermore, Capt. Lamosao’s insistence that it is the reactionary local government officials who are abreast of the issues in their respective areas is not so much a vote of confidence than a baiting ploy to sniff out local politicians who are supportive or sympathetic to the revolutionary cause.

In their own fascist way, the AFP in the region interprets the peace process in the same manner as its troops conduct their insidious civil-military operations in the form of “peace and development teams” or “community organizing for peace and development” in communities in the countryside. These euphemistic PDTs or COPDs are but psy-war operations that terorrize the masses in order to turn them against each other, force them to become guides in AFP combat operations, turn communities into virtual military garrisons, orchestrate fake surrenders of civilians and vilify the revolutionary movement.

Around the region, presently deployed AFP troops already numbering to 17 battalions and their paramilitaries wage an all-out psy-war and killing offensive in Lumad and peasant communities, especially in areas earmarked for Duterte’s foreign agri-corporation and mining expansion projects such as Paquibato and Calinan in Davao City, Talaingod, Monkayo, Compostela, New Corella and others. To the fascists’ comeuppance, however, the masses and NPA units in these areas are proving to be more resilient and up to the challenge of taking the initiative in guerilla warfare.

It is well within the US counter-insurgency playbook that the US-Duterte regime employs to undermine the merits and advances in the negotiations. Despite being an outright lie, the smear campaign against CASER and the entire peace process serves their interest of making the ill-advised localized peace talks appear more palatable to the public without having to actually present a feasible alternative to resolve the civil war. Because in the end, all the US-Duterte regime and the AFP actually have up their sleeve are blood on their hands.

RUBI DEL MUNDO
Spokesperson
NDFP-SMR

https://www.ndfp.org/caser-benefits-the-masses/
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